'I refuse to let them win'

Friday

Jun 28, 2013 at 1:35 PMJun 28, 2013 at 1:39 PM

Sen. Judy Emmons and the women of the Michigan Senate have been working on passing legislation regarding human trafficking in Michigan. As part of Emmons' efforts to raise awareness to human trafficking, she hosted an event Thursday at Greenville's First United Methodist Church.

Mattie Cookmattie.cook@sentinel-standard.com

Sen. Judy Emmons and the women of the Michigan Senate have been working on passing legislation regarding human trafficking in Michigan. As part of Emmons' efforts to raise awareness to human trafficking, she hosted an event Thursday at Greenville's First United Methodist Church.

According to the United States Department of Justice, 300,000 children in the U.S. are at risk every year for commercial sexual exploitation. Michigan ranks fifth in the nation in human trafficking, according to Shared Hope International, a worldwide organization aimed to eradicate sex trading through legislation, prevention and restoration.

This event brought in Theresa Flores, author of "The Slave Across the Street," and a victim of human trafficking in Michigan.

Flores offered her experiences with human trafficking as a way to spread awareness and get individuals involved with the campaign to fight slavery.

EXPERIENCE

After moving to Birmingham, Mich., with her family when she was 15 years old, Flores said she lacked a sense of community. She met a boy soon after moving, but since she was not allowed to date until she was 16, she did not tell her family anything about him.

One day during track practice, Flores ran back to her locker to grab an item and the boy was there waiting for her. When he offered to give her a ride home, she agreed.

"I jumped in his brand new car but he didn't take me home, he took me to his house," said Flores.

According to Flores, she had a bad feeling about entering the house with him but that she ignored it. Now, she says, it is important to always trust those feelings because you get them for a "good reason."

After entering the home, Flores was drugged and raped. Later, she was blackmailed with photographs of the rape. The traffickers said they would show her family, priest and others the photos they took, and since she was raised in a strict home, she agreed to do what they say to earn the photos back one or two at a time.

For two years, Flores followed the demands of the traffickers. In the middle of the night, she would get calls to meet them outside and they would even take her out of school.

After being taken, Flores would be taken to homes in Detroit where she would "provide services to men" and then they would take her back home.

As a result of these incidents, Flores began losing sleep and her grades were slipping. According to Flores, her teachers and others must have seen signs that something was wrong with her, but no one was willing to get involved.

After two years, Flores said she began to give up hope and that the upper-level individuals in the trafficking circle noticed. One day, she snuck out to their car in the middle of the night as she had often done before, but this time there were different men. These men proceeded to beat her, kidnap her and took her to a hotel in Detroit where she was auctioned off to a group of men.

After being kidnapped, Flores had no shoes, money, identification and she had no idea where she was.

"I had a little angel with me and she nudged me to get out of there," said Flores.

She went to a diner and a waitress was the first person in years to offer her help. Flores asked for a dime to call her father, but when he answered, she was too afraid to tell him to come for her. The waitress noticed Flores' distress and called the police, according to Flores. The police took her home where her parents were waiting for her.

"They thought I was out whoring around and I couldn't tell them any differently. I couldn't for their safety," Flores said.

According to Flores, traffickers affect the minds of their victims in a way that she cannot explain. In addition, Flores posits that if her traffickers told her to come with them again today, she would.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

In order to prevent human trafficking incidents in the future, Flores argued that we need to make strong laws, educate officers and teachers and make services available to those who have been victimized.

"I didn't do it willingly. Nobody does it willingly... Awareness is the first step. We really need to protect our children," said Flores.

According to Emmons, this is a business and the traffickers go wherever the can make money. The Polaris Project projects that the cities in Michigan with the most calls received by the National Human Trafficking Resource Center include Detroit, Grand Rapids, Ann Arbor, Kalamazoo, Lansing and Mackinac Island.

In addition, large gatherings of people, such as Art Prize in Grand Rapids, the North American International Auto Show and sporting events are prime targets for traffickers.

"No girl will tell you that they want to grow up and do this," said Emmons.

According to Emmons, traffickers typically will find a 20-year-old, who will then get a teenager who will then be expected to solicit a pre-teen into trafficking.

"It's an insidious process and it's getting worse," Emmons said.

Emmons hopes to create legislation that will address the needs of those who have been victimized by human trafficking, as well as go after the assets of the traffickers. In addition, she hopes to develop first responder awareness so that they can see the signs and make it "much more comprehensive than it already is."

"These guys are winning and I refuse to let them win my daughters and granddaughters," Flores said.

To get involved with Emmons fight against human trafficking, contact her office toll-free at 1-866-305-2133 or via e-mail at SenJEmmons@senate.michigan.gov.